Suggestion for AB 2016's AMV contest

[Coco Strawbunny]

I think there should be a category system like the masquerade (novice, journeyman, Veteran) for editors. I haven't seen it practiced at other cons yet, but it'd make the contests more fair for editors starting out vs, well.. experts. it'd also make it more fair for editors who don't have the big $$ to spend on the best editing software vs the ones who do. I've seen in the last few years at AB, the winner's/finalist's AMVs looked like they used Adobe software to edit them while almost all of the overflow amvs were the ones who didn't use Adobe software but free software instead. it just looks a bit unfair to say "sorry, your amv wasn't selected. BUT It will be featured in our 'overflow' playlist." to those beginners or low-on-extra-funds editors while the veterans and big-software spenders keep getting selected and winning.

(ps. yes I know it'd add more time into the awards ceremony and add more awards to be purchased but it would make it more enjoyable for novice editors.)

(pps. btw, im posting this not as a [possible] disgruntled competitor but as a fellow audience member/ AMV fan)

[basharoftheages]

The beauty and usefulness of the prescreening process is that it lets you create a solid contest of the "best" entries so that you present the best possible show to your audience. Handicapping the entries based on experience or awards won would produce a worse show for your audience. Since the show really is for the audience, this is a bad idea. This is why AB stopped doing it in 2005.

[Coco Strawbunny]

The beauty and usefulness of the prescreening process is that it lets you create a solid contest of the "best" entries so that you present the best possible show to your audience. Handicapping the entries based on experience or awards won would produce a worse show for your audience. Since the show really is for the audience, this is a bad idea. This is why AB stopped doing it in 2005.

yeah but it just seems unfair for those who cant afford to shell out $80+ a month on video editing software that they would prob only need for 1 or 2 AMVs a year. I know a few friends, along with myself, who are on fixed incomes (nearly all my paycheck every week goes straight to bills, I only get to put away $20 or $30 a week and that's to later buy cosplay supplies and pay for conventions.) and cant afford to pay the outrageous prices Adobe charges for software, and they charge you that much because they don't let you buy just one software program, they make you buy 3-4 programs [which you don't even need except one program] and sony vegas is the same but they charge $70 to remove their watermark from the video.

[basharoftheages]

Most AMV editors I know don't use Adobe products, and of the ones that do, very few of them pay monthly for them (or at all). Your intel seems suspect.

[Coco Strawbunny]

Most AMV editors I know don't use Adobe products, and of the ones that do, very few of them pay monthly for them (or at all). Your intel seems suspect.

almost all of the finalists this year were using effects that can only be found in Adobe video editing software. I know that because I used an Adobe video editing software before they forced me to pay for it and buy 3 more programs 2 years ago. you now cant save nor edit projects opened in Adobe products unless you have paid for the monthly subscription. the ones who can still do it without paying are prob ones who got hacked/bootleg versions of the program online (though I cant seem to find it.)

[Ileia]

Speaking as one of those veterans/winners, I've been using the same $40 program since 2010 (that's a one-time cost, not a monthly subscription). It's skill and experience that is important, not the program that you use. No matter how expensive your program is, you don't just click a button and voilà - video done! There's a lot more involved in the process and there are base attributes that you need in order for effects to even have any use (like concept, story, etc). I'm all for skill levels in AMV contests, but not due to perceived "unfairness" in the choice of editing software.

[Elli21486]

As an audience member, I can understand where Flint Fox is coming from. I too see many times that there are a lot of repeat editors who seems to win in a category every single year (I'm looking at a certain someone here. ) However, I do like the fact that only the best of the best are chosen for us to vote on. I will like to also mention the feelings of those editors who make it in the finalist for the first time. This year, HG Revolution experienced being a finalist for the first time with his video "Time" in the romance category.

Before I end this post, I will mention that not all use Adobe. If I remember last year, only 2 winners used Adobe. Everyone else used a variety of software. It isn't much of how good your software is but instead, of how well you are able to use what you have to the fullest.

[thetoddfather]

As an audience member, I can understand where Flint Fox is coming from. I too see many times that there are a lot of repeat editors who seems to win in a category every single year (I'm looking at a certain someone here. ) However, I do like the fact that only the best of the best are chosen for us to vote on. I will like to also mention the feelings of those editors who make it in the finalist for the first time. This year, HG Revolution experienced being a finalist for the first time with his video "Time" in the romance category.

Before I end this post, I will mention that not all use Adobe. If I remember last year, only 2 winners used Adobe. Everyone else used a variety of software. It isn't much of how good your software is but instead, of how well you are able to use what you have to the fullest.

Good editors win, but not all the time, the winner of best action and drama this year won nothing last year. Being a name or being well known doesn't mean that you will win, I've found that it really is may the best video win.

As a winner, I've said this before and I'll say it again, I personally use Adobe software because that is what i am comfortable using, and I pay for it every month, it is a good investment for me because I use it elsewhere as well.

However, i also consider AMV's my version of cosplay, in that it is what I do in fandom. I don't have any interest in dressing up in costume anymore so I make music videos. So that $20 or $30 or $50 people put away each month for going to a con, I spend on my software and source and then I staff the con so that I can afford to go.

I personally don't feel like a tiered contest is at all in the interest of any other con because most beginner videos aren't very good. In fact they are generally very bad. the key items are generally missing, and they will look awful on the giant screen in hall D. You get better though practice. I made a bunch of bad videos, and I've posted them on my you tube channel for the world to see, so that everyone knows if you work hard you get better.

Five years ago I couldn't even get into the AB contest, now I've got two victories. Making it easier for beginners people to get in isn't the way to get a awesome contest, hard work to get yourself into the final contest is. I am always surprised when my videos get in, and ecstatic when they don't, because that means something even better is getting shown.

[Luscia]

I can see both sides to this. Speaking as an editor of the last 2 years whom hasn't made it into the finals, I can see the good in doing the devision ranking. It would keep the new comers submitting if they feel they can honestly win. However, if we did something like that it would almost be like handing out trophies for just participating and I personally don't like the thought of that. Last year when my Black Butler video didn't make it to the finals I was crushed because I had soooooooo many problems making it; from ripping the footage to my original program not working. I had mentioned this in another thread from last year and some thought I was discouraged since my first video I made for competing didn't make it in and I was anything but discouraged; it just made me want to try harder.

I actually don't use Premire Pro or Sony Vegas. Most of my work gets done in lol Movie Maker and then tweaked in Premire Elements. My two entries this year showed all the hard work and love I poured into them as they both took just over 2 months to complete. I took risks in submitting both of these as one I wasn't sure if the quality of the footage was clean and the other used an overplayed song, but you know what? I wouldn't change anything about them. I am proud of what I put out there and as thetodfather said; when your video doesn't make it in, it means something even better got made and I too am personally excited to see it.

[Dragonrider1227]

I actually totally get the feeling here. Despite my love of this hobby, and desire to express my passion for an anime that doesn't get a lot of attention, despite that I know I can make a decent video since I had been making these for years now, the fact that I couldn't afford the fancy stuff, continue to struggle really hard to understand the technical aspect, (things like codecs, video conversion, DVD ripping, and the clean up process) I honestly believed only experts got into the contest and my video would appear far too amateurish to any judge I showed it to so I felt really and I mean REALLY intimidated by these contests and it took me a real long time to finally work up the nerve to try and I was a nervous wreck the entire time I was making and sending my video. So I really understand. This is an incredibly intimidating contest for beginners. But my AMV made with a cheap $40 editor (NCH Software's Videopad) with no knowledge of video conversion and clean up could get into the finalists. I don't believe it lost because I lacked fancy software but because I still have a lot of skills to develop. I really don't mean to brag here. Just to encourage and show it's really not that impossible.